This is Beirut, 31/03 20:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Donald Trump Hezbollah United States
An American freelance journalist, Shelley Kittleson, was abducted by unidentified individuals in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry, prompting an urgent security operation to locate her and apprehend those responsible. The ministry said authorities acted swiftly on what it described as “precise ...
This is Beirut, 31/03 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
USA Donald Trump Hezbollah Israel Tehran
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held a press conference Tuesday at the Pentagon alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing an update on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran. Hegseth described the campaign as a “laser-focused, maximum authority mission” employing overwhelming ...
Seth J. Frantzman, 31/03 15:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Tehran Lebanon Hezbollah Israel United States
In December 2017, Hezbollah hosted Iraqi militia leader Qais al-Khazali on a tour of Lebanon’s border with Israel. At the time, Israel was careful not to provoke Hezbollah, and Khazali seemed confident that he could threaten the Jewish state from the frontier. Nearly a decade later, Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have become ...
This is Beirut, 31/03 15:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Middle East south buffer zone
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said Israel's military would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon even after the end of the current war against the Hezbollah armed group. "At the end of the operation, the IDF will establish itself in a security zone inside Lebanon, on a defensive line against anti-tank missiles, and will maintain security ...
This is Beirut, 31/03 12:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Bahrain Hezbollah Lebanon Kuwait United Arab Emirates
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced on Monday the arrest of three individuals accused of forming a “terrorist cell” linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. According to the ministry, the suspects “coordinated with terrorist elements abroad and sought to engage in espionage in a manner intended to undermine the ...
This is Beirut, 30/03 22:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah United States
In an exclusive statement to This is Beirut, a senior U.S. official conveyed support for the Lebanese government’s authority and expressed concern for Iranian infractions against Lebanese sovereignty. The official said that “the United States supports the sovereignty and authority of the Lebanese government to make decisions ...
Natasha Metni Torbey, 30/03 14:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Israel Lebanese Army Benjamin Netanyahu Lebanon Hezbollah
The Israeli military is conducting a methodical ground campaign in southern Lebanon, advancing slowly but steadily along three main axes as Jerusalem seeks to establish a buffer zone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had ordered the military to “further expand the existing security strip” in Lebanon, signaling ...
This is Beirut, 30/03 14:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon South Lebanon Hezbollah Israel United Nations
UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon were wounded in an incident near the Lebanese-Israeli border, a spokesperson for the force said Monday, without specifying the nature of the incident. "There has been an incident involving peacekeepers near Bani Hayyan, and we have injuries," Kandice Ardiel told AFP. Bani Hayyan is a Lebanese town near the border ...
This is Beirut, 30/03 13:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Judge Tarek Bitar, the judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion case, has concluded his investigations and referred the entire file to Deputy Public Prosecutor General Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar for review, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Monday. The refered defendants, all of whom have been questioned since early 2025, ...
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 30/03 10:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Israel UN Security Council Lebanon Hamas Hezbollah
From the ruins of Gaza to the depopulated villages south of Lebanon’s Litani River, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is testing a new doctrine that breaks with decades of conventional wisdom on combating terrorist actors. Rather than applying military pressure to bend governments or populations to its political will, Israel is now waging a war ...
This is Beirut, 30/03 06:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanon United Nations South Lebanon Hezbollah Israel
The UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of their peacekeepers was killed after a projectile hit one of their positions late Sunday. "A peacekeeper was tragically killed last night when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit Al Qusayr," said Monday's statement. "Another was critically injured." The UNIFIL ...
This is Beirut, 30/03 06:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Israel Benjamin Netanyahu Lebanon Iran Hezbollah
Israel's parliament approved the 2026 budget early Monday, providing for a significant increase in military spending as the country remains engaged in wars on multiple fronts. Lawmakers passed the budget with 62 votes in favour and 55 against. The vote averted an automatic government collapse and snap election that would have followed failure to ...